Jay Johnson confirms Wes Johnson will remain with LSU through end of season

Monday, news broke that LSU pitching coach Wes Johnson would be leaving to take the head coach position at Georgia. The timing was interesting considering the Tigers are getting ready for the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament, but the expectation was that Johnson would stay with LSU through season’s end.

Jay Johnson confirmed as much after Monday’s win over Oregon State.

Jay Johnson said he’s known about Wes Johnson’s plans for a few days, and the plan is for him to finish out the year. As for replacing him, Jay Johnson said he’s confident LSU will find the right person for the job.

“He’s locked in,” Jay Johnson said. “This has been done for about five days. I mean, I think the preparation and the execution of the pitching staff this weekend speaks for itself. And it’s just a new time in college athletics. We were having a meeting tomorrow morning, I was going to tell him tomorrow morning. But obviously, you don’t get to that point. But I love him like a brother. I can’t imagine only spending 11 months with somebody and connecting the way that we have.”

And we’re going to get a great pitching coach. I’m not even worried about that or dialing any of that stuff in. I just love working with him. And he’s made a big impact on our guys, and it’s been great. But it is what it is. And I don’t have any reason to worry about how we’re going to roll going forward.”

ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported Wes Johnson’s pending hire at Georgia. He will replace Scott Stricklin, who spent 10 years as Georgia’s head coach and totaled a 299-236-1 record. The Bulldogs missed out on the NCAA Tournament this year after a 29-27 overall record and an 11-19 mark put them as the No. 11 seed in the SEC Tournament, where they lost to South Carolina in a 9-0 blowout. Georgia fired Stricklin after that game.

“Sources: Georgia is finalizing a deal to make LSU pitching coach Wes Johnson the school’s new head coach,” Thamel said. “Johnson has extensive SEC experience from his time at LSU, Mississippi State, and Arkansas as a pitching coach.”

Wes Johnson was brought to LSU before the 2022 season and immediately got to work with the pitching staff. Future top-five draft pick Paul Skenes has given credit to Johnson for a lot of improvements this season, including adding a pitch to the arsenal.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.